Automatically-locking box.



QT AVAILABLE C PY PATENTED PEP: 11, 1908 P. G. FEW.

AUTOMATICALLY LOOKING BOX.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 7, 1906.

' Y object of my invention is UNITED PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK O. FEW, OF ALBANY, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO PELATIAH J.

. MARCH, OF TROY, NEW YORK. i

ro'roivra'rroamy-nocxme nox.

' Patented Feb. 11, 1908.

Application filed May 7. 1906. Serial No. 315.473. 1

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK Few, a citizen of the United States, residing at Albany, in the county of Albany and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatically- Locking Boxes, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to devices for automatically locking receptacles, especially adapted for retaining milk bottles, and the to provide a box which may be secured to a swinging door and locked or unlocked automatically by the closin and opening ofthe door, and which may e so constructed that the articles placed within the box may be locked therein, even when the box proper is unlocked, to-

getherwith suchother elements and combinations as are hereinafter more particularly set forth and claimed.

I attain these objects by means of the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Flgure 1 IS a perspective view. Fig. 2 is a 1 e 7 r nonzontal section along the lines }\k on Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a vertical section along the lines YY on Fig. 2.

Similar letters refer t similar parts throughoutthe several views. Y

In orderto assure the delivery of the milk in the morning it is advisable-to arrange for a receptacle within which the bottles containing the same may be fastened against those who would purloin that very necessary article of food, and for. this purpose I have arrangeda box, A, provided with a cover, B,

hin%d, preferably, at the to ofone side of the ox at C, O, asshown inig. 1. The box may be mounted on the side of a swin ing door, D, and is. provided with a'sliding ar,

E, earryinga latch, F, the bar, E, being attached to one side of the box, A, preferably by means of the screws, G, G, engaging the slotted openings, 5 g, in the side of the bar, E, thus permitting of a reciprocating movement in a'horizontal plane of the bar, E, on the screws G. The'latch, F, is preferably of s ring metal andarran ed at right angles, or tliereabout, to the mam ortion of the bar, E, as shown in Fi 1, an is provided at its end with a books or overlap ing portion, f, adapted to engage a like over ap ing hooke catch, H, on the under side of t e cover, B,

as shown by dotted lines in Fig. '1.

For the purpose of moving the 'bar, E, I preferably arrange the bolt, J, within the door, D, and adapted to enga e the door jamb, K, when the door is close {Elie bolt,

J, enga es the lever, L, on one side df its fulcrum, said lever being mounted in the door, D. The other end of said lever passes through an opening, M,,near one end of the bar, E, and is so adjusted that the fulcrum, Z, of the lever, IJ, lies between the opening, M, in the bar E, and the point of engagement of the bolt, J, with the lever, L, and as thus arranged a movement of the lever caused b the engagement of the end of the bolt wit the jamb of the door will move the bar, E, so

as to bring the latch, I! in engagement with the catch, H. For the purpose of throwing the latch, F, out of engagementv with, the catch, H, when the bolt, ,J, engagement with the door-jamb, K, the door being opened, I arrange a spring, N, which,

is out of maybe of the form shown in Fig. 1 or in any other suitable form, in which the one arm, n, of the spring, N, engages the lug, 0,011 the bar, E, the other arm, a, engaging the lug, O, on the side of the box, A, thes ring being wound at or near its center a out the screw, P. Q

. It is understood that I do not wish to limit myself. to the means for throwing back the latch bar, E, by thus, particularly describing the spring, as any suitable de ice for, that urpose may be employed without dtjparting thus rom the spirit of iny invention. s arranged w en the cover, 13, of the box, A, is closed and the dooris shut the latch, F, Will, by its hooked overturned edge,f,engage the catch, 1-], and the box will be securely fastened. 'However,I want to have the box so that it'may be 0 ened by the milkman with-- out the use of a "ey and without opening the door, therefore I would place the bottles to be returned in the-box and leave the-box cover opened, and when the filled bottles have replaced theempty ones the ,milkman will close the cover of the box, the spring, of the latch, F, allowing for this proceeding. as the hooked portion, f, engages the catch, H, and the box could not then be entered without first opening the door. It may be necessary, however, to arrange for fastening the bottles in the box before they are filled, which may be done by a ran ing in the box, near the bottom, shelves, Q, between which the necks of the bottles would fit, but the at about midway between the ends of t shelves Q W erejthe opening betweenithem is enlarged as at S, Fig. 2., In this way a bottle, T, may be placed, bottom up, through the opening, S, between the shelves and then moved toward one end of the box, ;A, when it would be prevented from bein removed vertically because of the shelves on each side fitting within the narrow portion of the neck, between the mouth, R, and the belly, U, of the bottle, T, as shown in Fig. 3. For the purpose of locking the bottles, when they are placed, thus empty, in the box I may arrange a lock, shown in Fig. 3, in which the bolt, V, may be thrown, by the tumblers, IN,

acted upon by a key, not shown, into the mouth of the empty bottle, T, and hold said bottle in such a position that the swelled portion, R, of the neckwill bewithin the narrow portion, between the shelves, Q, Q, as shown in Fig. 3. When I have more than one'empty bottle, I may lace one of the bottles upright u on the she ves, Q, and I arrange, prefera 1y, a sheet metal cover, Z, hinged at one end which rests upon the top of the bottles, which would prevent one taking out the con tents therefrom, provided tickets or money or other articles were placed therein, the empty bottle, T being held in position because of the empty bottle, T, being locked shelves.

'ent that between the shelves. When the sheet metal cover, Z, is not in use it will fall down, as shown at the left of Fig. 3.

As shown, it is not necessary to reverse the position of more than one bottle, and it is. not necessary to cause the neck of the bottle tb pass between the shoulders, Q, Q, except at the one sideof the place or entrance, as shown in Fig. 3. The other bottles may stand iii-the ordinary normal way upon the Whenfilled bottles are placed in the box, they are stood upon the shelves, Q, Q, without regard for the locking device at the bottom of the box, the swinging covers,

Z, Z, occupying a vertical position in the box when out of use, the cover, B, of the box is closed and the catch, H, engages thelatch, F, the box being thus secure against rifling.

I have s oken of bottles, when it is appar- I may use the box for holding a pitcher, pail or other rece tacle, and indeed may use the box for ot er purposes, such as for mail, if desired, and I do not, therefore, limit myself in any Way to the use to which my invention may be put.

When desired I may extend the lever, L, I

through the door, D, as shown in Fig. 2, and

by dotted lines in, Fig. 1, and by means of a hook, L, I may engage the end of the lever, L, so as to holdit against the resiliency of the spring, N, preventing the cover, B, from being released when the door, D, is opened. This may be particularly usefulwhen the box is a mail box and the door being-opened and shut would leave the contents of the box I subject to constant scrutiny.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In an automatically locking box, adapted to be secured to a'swinging door, the combination of a reciprocating locking latch; a

latch inthe opposite direction, substantially as described.

3. In an automatically locking box, adapted to be secured to a swinging door, the combination of a reciprocating locking latch; a catch on the cover of said box a bolt adapted,- when the cover is closed, to move said reciprocating latch in contact with said catch by the closing of the door and a means on the inside of the door for preventing the unlocking of the box when the door is opened.

4. In a box adapted to be secured to a door; a means for automatically locking said box by the action of the closing of the door; a-

means for retaining within the box one or more bottles; a swinging cover adapted to'be placed over the mouth of one of said bottles; with a means for locking said bottles within the box, substantially as described.

5. In a box; a means for supporting bottles; covers within said box adapted to be placed over the mouths of said bottles; a look by the operation of which said bottles may be retained "in position and displacenient of said covers prevented. Y

6. In a box; a cover for said box; another cover adapted to be placed over the mouth of a bottle; a means for preventing the dis-' placement of said last mentioned cover and the removal of said bottle;

In testimony whereof I have affixed my.

DUDLEY B. WADE, Lorna Peron. 

